ChargePoint lets you reserve electric charging stations, cuts down on alternative fueling fistfights
One day in the future, we'll all drive around in electric cars and gas pumps will be replaced by clean charging stations. Also, free ice cream. Until then, get in line -- or better yet, reserve a spot online courtesy of ChargePoint's online database of alternative fueling stations. The Coulomb Technologies-run site displays charging stations on a Google Map, with a colored pin letting you know in real-time whether someone is currently topping off their Tesla. If you're the type with foresight -- you did buy an electric car, after all -- you can schedule some quality time with an outlet on the site using your ChargePass card. The cost of charging is determined by the station's manager, and appointments can be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance. The site has some serious competition on the EV charging map, courtesy of the newly launched GeoEVSE, a collaboration between US Department of Energy, Google, and 80 other companies. Maybe the new reservations feature will help ChargePoint win the race to your heart.
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Coulomb Technologies Furthers Innovation on the ChargePoint Network: Announces Industry-First Charging Station Reservation System
The ChargePoint Network Reservation Feature:
The Hottest EV Spot in Town Now Available
CAMPBELL, Calif., April 25, 2011 Coulomb Technologies, the leading electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions provider, today announced new advancements to the ChargePoint® Network--the industry's first charging station reservation system designed for EV drivers. The ChargePoint Network now makes available the ease, when planning a road trip, to select a destination, get driving directions and reserve a charging station, all from an online browser: http://www.mychargepoint.net/find-stations.php. This new system allows EV drivers the convenience of ensuring their desired fueling destination will always be available when they arrive. ChargePoint search results also reflect actual "real-time" status of any available charging station on the ChargePoint Network.
"Part of the EV owner experience is planning where you will charge and, planning the miles you will travel," said Richard Lowenthal, founder and CTO at Coulomb. "If you are certain you can charge at your destination, it effectively doubles the range of your vehicle since you don't need to cover the round trip with just one charge. It also means that a 100-mile vehicle can cover a 100-mile diameter metropolitan area, like the San Francisco or Los Angeles regions. I need to know in advance that a station and EV parking place is waiting and available for me at the mall, or the theater or at a meeting location. This feature is especially important to station owners who want to ensure that an EV driver will spend time at their business."
Reservations as easy as 1, 2, 3
· Drivers search for reservable charging stations at http://www.mychargepoint.net.
· Drivers can easily make a reservation once signed into their ChargePoint Driver Account.
· Upon making a reservation, the driver is billed the station owner-determined fee.
· By using their ChargePass™ card, drivers have unlimited charging station access privileges during their reserved charging session time.
· Reservations may be canceled by the driver up to 24 hours prior to the start of the reservation.
"Our stations are one of the few pubic stations in downtown Washington DC, and they are getting busier as more EVs appear on the road," said Robert Reisteter of Hines, the property manager of Columbia Square. "Having the capability to make any of our stations reservable, provides us with a new unique feature to attract EV drivers to our parking garage."
Through the ChargePoint Network, station owners can provide a distinctive new service, attract new customers and generate new revenue from EV charging. The ChargePoint Network is:
· The largest and longest operating EV charging services network in the world.
· The network with the most active EV drivers in the world.
· The only charging network with mobile apps providing EV drivers real-time station status and charging notifications.
· The world's first fully open EV charging network supporting charging stations from multiple manufacturers.
· The world's first PCI-compliant charging network, enabling flexible driver payment and billing options for recovering energy costs.
The ChargePoint Network gives all EV drivers easy-to-use unique services including: real-time status and location of unoccupied charging stations, tracking and reporting greenhouse gas and gasoline savings, and charging status notification, all by SMS, email or smart phone (iPhone and Blackberry) applications. Coulomb's ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and all manufacturers of electric vehicle charging stations.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging solutions, with charging systems and application services delivered by the ChargePoint Network. The ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet Managers, Drivers, and Utilities. The open-system driver network went live in January 2009 and now operates in 14 countries with Network Operations Centers in the U.S., UK and Hong Kong. Coulomb's ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations range from 120 to 240 VAC charging up to 500 Volt DC fast charging with more than 3800 stations shipped worldwide. For more information go to: www.coulombtech.com. Follow Coulomb on Twitter: twitter.com/coulombevi. Download the ChargePoint iPhone App. Download the ChargePoint Blackberry App.
